The Department of Justice this week announced nearly $400 million in grant funding through the Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) COPS Hiring Program (CHP). 

The Attorney General announced funding awards to 596 law enforcement agencies across the nation, which allows those agencies to hire 2,732 additional full-time law enforcement professionals. The awards announced Tuesday are inclusive of the $51 million announced in May as part of Operation Relentless Pursuit.  

“The Department of Justice is committed to providing the police chiefs and sheriffs of our great nation with needed resources, tools, and support. The funding announced today will bolster their ranks and contribute to expanding community policing efforts nationwide,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “A law enforcement agency’s most valuable assets are the men and women who put their lives on the line every day in the name of protecting and serving their communities.”

The COPS Hiring Program is a competitive award program intended to reduce crime and advance public safety through community policing by providing direct funding for the hiring of career law enforcement officers. In addition to providing financial support for hiring, CHP provides funding to state, local and tribal law enforcement to enhance local community policing strategies and tactics. 

In a changing economic climate, CHP funding helps law enforcement agencies maintain sufficient sworn personnel levels to promote safe communities. Funding through this program had been on hold since the spring of 2018 due to a nationwide injunction that was lifted earlier this year.

CHP applicants were required to identify a specific crime and disorder problem focus area and explain how the funding will be used to implement community policing approaches to that problem focus area. Forty-three percent of the awards announced today will focus on violent crime, while the remainder of the awards will focus on a variety of issues including school-based policing to fund school resource officer positions, building trust and respect and opioid education, prevention and intervention. The COPS Office received nearly 1,100 applications requesting more than 4,000 law enforcement positions. 

Ohio agencies awarded are as follows, with totals including the number of officers and the amount awarded:

Aberdeen Police Department 1 $104,101
Akron, City of 12 $3,957,780
Bay Village, City of 1 $125,000
Brooklyn, City of 1 $125,000
Cambridge, City of 2 $250,000
Canton, City of 5 $625,000
Cincinnati, City of 86 $10,750,000
Cleveland, City of 30 $7,968,944
Dayton, City of 5 $625,000
East Cleveland Police Department 3 $626,768
Euclid, City of 3 $375,000
Fairborn, City of 2 $250,000
Fayette, Village of 1 $125,000
Greenfield, City of 1 $125,000
Hamilton County Sheriff's Office 10 $1,250,000
Jackson County Sheriff's Department 2 $250,000
Lorain Police Department 4 $500,000
Mansfield Division of Police 4 $1,083,097
Maple Heights Police Department 2 $572,124
Marion Police Department 3 $375,000
Metropolitan Park District of the Toledo Area 2 $250,000
Middletown, City of 2 $250,000
Milton, Township of 1 $125,000
Mt. Healthy, City of 2 $250,000
New Boston Police Department 2 $250,000
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation And Correction 4 $752,014
Ohio State Highway Patrol 5 $1,281,658
Toledo Department of Police Operation 6 $750,000
Trotwood, City of 4 $1,039,007
Union City 2 $219,461
Washington County Sheriff's Department 1 $125,000
Whitehall Division of Police 3 $375,000
Youngstown Police Department 8 $800,869

The complete list of awards can be found at: https://cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/2020AwardDocs/chp/Award_List.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery. 

To learn more about CHP, please visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/chp. For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit www.cops.usdoj.gov.